A lens is an object that can be used to alter the behavior of light. For example, a lens can transmit and refract light towards a focal point. Lenses are typically made of plastic or glass and can be used in a wide range of applications and imaging systems. For example, lenses can be found in binoculars, telescopes, endoscopic probes, microscopes, projectors, cameras, and projectors all use lenses. In addition, corrective lenses such as eye glasses and contacts can be used for the correction of visual impairments (e.g., defocus, astigmatism, and higher-order aberrations).
Given the variety of applications and types of objectives, it has traditionally been impractical to stock all lenses that could possibly be needed. With corrective lenses, for example, the accuracy of the correction is limited by the number of lenses that can economically be manufactured and stocked. Thus adding finer divisions or higher order aberrations (e.g., coma) would improve patient vision but at the cost of much larger inventory, which becomes expensive to fabricate and maintain. In addition, traditional systems for creating customized lenses that correct for various aberrations are expensive and can have a significant lag time. As a result, systems and methods are needed for efficiently creating customized lenses.